• by Melynda Fuller , November 19, 2019

During the 2020 election cycle, video content marketplace Stringr will supply national and local news outlets with broadcast, digital and raw video content through a partnership with Google News Initiative.

Early publishing partners include TheBoston Globe, Fox TV stations, News Press & Gazette, Lee Enterprises and Flood Communications.

Through the partnership, Stringr's network of freelance videographers will supply several types of political video news packages.

Broadcast outlets can use packages that include voiceovers for newscast networks, while digital publishers can take advantage of political packages edited and ready for distribution. Raw video assets of key events are also available to be edited by the outlets.

"We see this as an amazing opportunity to augment and extend our ability to bring boots on the ground coverage of the seemingly ever-expanding 2020 presidential primary,” Matt Karolian, general manager, The Boston Globe, told Publishers Daily. “Our users are often hungry to consume their news in video format. There is a clear opportunity to increase our audience's engagement by providing the Stringr sourced video to Boston.com and Globe.com readers."

The offering was devised as a way to support media organizations that may not have the resources to cover all of the stories they feel are relevant to their audience in a cost-effective and flexible way.

News organizations that sign up for the service will receive one broadcast and one digital segment per day and two or more raw videos. Supply will depend on the number of applicable events taking place that day.

“The political media landscape can be difficult to navigate in terms of ensuring every facet is covered and distributed. The ready-to-go video has become essential to help us capture the critical points of the 2020 election and further the narrative with our audiences,” Tim Kelley, director of digital engagement at Lee Enterprises, told Publishers Daily.

“We’ve seen an incredible uptick in audience engagement when incorporating videos with our articles, such content views per session and how long viewers are staying on our site.”